Rishi’s unrivalled vision will drive Wales forward as part of a thriving UK

Simon Hart, Craig Williams, Fay Jones, Jamie Wallis, Stephen Crabb, Alun Cairns, Simon Baynes, Sam Rowlands, Peter Fox, Natasha Asghar, Darren Millar, Gareth Davies and Russell George (all Welsh MPS)

Serious times call for serious leadership. We are facing challenges on a number of fronts so we need to make sure we choose a leader who will exercise the best judgment, reunite both our country and our party, and lead us to victory in the next general election. Rishi Sunak is the best candidate for the job.

Rishi has a plan to tackle inflation, grow the economy and cut taxes. He is the candidate that can restore trust in our politics and ensure that every part of our United Kingdom is well-placed to make the most of the freedoms and opportunities that Brexit has given us.

With Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru’s Co-operation Agreement risking the breakup of the UK and constitutional chaos, we need strong leadership and a Conservative majority government to take Wales forward.

Rishi has already demonstrated his competence in difficult times. Within days of a global pandemic striking, he put in place the furlough scheme that saved 11.6million jobs, including 600,000 here in Wales. He supported 63,000 Welsh businesses through UK government loans and grants and he supported the self-employed. If he hadn’t, thousands of Welsh jobs and livelihoods would have been lost.

During his three years as chancellor, Rishi delivered a significant increase in direct UK government investment into Welsh communities to create jobs, growth and record-breaking funding for Welsh public services to help them cope and recover from the pandemic.

Rishi would lead the most active UK government in Wales in the history of devolution and, unlike Welsh Labour, will level-up towns and communities throughout Wales. The simple truth is that someone in Aberystwyth or Abersoch should have the same opportunities as someone in London, Leeds or Bristol. The legacy of devolve and forget cannot continue. With households struggling with rising bills, Rishi announced that £400 would be cut from everyone’s energy costs, with £1,200 of support for the most vulnerable 30 per cent of families. Changes to National Insurance mean 70 per cent of workers will now pay less NI, with some saving an extra £330 per year. He has also pledged to scrap VAT on all domestic energy bills, saving another £160 for every household.

We need a leader prepared to tell the truth. Rishi will do that. He is honest that we are facing difficult times, but he has a plan – whether it is tackling inflation, supporting people with living costs or taking a lead on the world stage to call out Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. We need a prime minister who has a grip on the big issues of the day. Rishi is the best candidate for the job.

Rishi wants to drive Wales forward as part of a thriving UK. During the pandemic, he saw first-hand how the Welsh Government was keen to diverge from the UK Government where it could. It’s no secret that direct Welsh Government policies saw more Covid-19 deaths per head of population than in any other part of the UK. That is why Rishi supports the Welsh Conservative Senedd Group’s call for the Welsh Government to undertake its own independent Covid-19 inquiry alongside the Uk-wide one.

Rishi’s vision for Wales is unrivalled, with an ambition of delivering freeports and an M4 relief road, improving North Wales’s infrastructure, attracting business and creating well-paid jobs.

Rishi Sunak is the best candidate to win the support of swing voters, restore public trust and beat Labour. That’s why we’re backing his positive and ambitious plan for Wales and the UK.